Review of The Spirit (2008) by Halfwelshman — 11 Aug 2012

I'm not denying that Frank Miller is extremely talented at telling a story on the page, but he has no talent whatsoever at telling any kind of story on film, especially when he can't lean on a talented filmmaker like Robert Rodriquez.

Nearly every key cast member is either wooden (Gabriel Macht and Eva Mendes) or looks hugely embarrassed (Samuel L. Jackson), the script such as it is, is an appalling, indistinct mush of puns and cliches, and the action is laughably cartoony.

It's also one of the campest films I've ever seen, not in a fun, self-aware kind of way, but in a clumsy, tone-deaf and unintentionally hilarious kind of way. For much of the film it feels like Miller is mercilessly parodying himself, but doesn't seem to have realised it.

At least Scarlett Johansson and Stana Katic in their supporting roles seem to have realised that he film is utter garbage, so over-act their socks off as an evil secretary-from-hell and a stiff but passionate rookie cop respectively, which is kind of fun to watch.

It may well be the worst comic book movie of all time - worse than Elektra, worse than The Fantastic Four and worse than Batman & Robin, in fact worse than an amalgamation of all three. If Frank Miller insists on stepping behind the camera again, then he should at least have the decency to ruin his own intellectual property rather than someone else's, as he did here with Will Eisner's comic from the 40s.

I implore you, Mr Miller, step away from the camera before you do any real damage.